


Movie Night

by WandaSeldon



Category: Robot Series - Isaac Asimov
Genre: 2001: A Space Odyssey, Agoraphobia, Cheesy Romance Tropes, Fluff, M/M, Unresolved Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-31
Updated: 2018-10-31
Packaged: 2019-08-09 14:10:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,445
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16451447
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WandaSeldon/pseuds/WandaSeldon
Summary: On the way back from Aurora, Elijah and Daneel watch a 'scary' movie together. All Daneel wants is to keep Elijah safe, but Elijah is determined to conquer his fears.





	Movie Night

**Author's Note:**

> Somewhat inspired by http://imagineyourfavoriterobot.tumblr.com/post/144781698906/imagine-finding-your-favorite-robot-staying-up
> 
> I imagine having seen 2001: A Space Odyssey at least once would increase your enjoyment of this fic.

It had been approximately two and a half days since the spaceship _Spitzer_ , which was to take Elijah Baley back to Earth, had launched from Aurora. Baley had started to think of those days as the most enjoyable he had experienced in years.

After reviewing Jander’s case and deciding what he would report to Demachek, he had turned his attention fully to Daneel. Looking back, he realized that they had never been together for the duration of an entire spaceflight without some matter of grave importance to occupy their minds. Now, he was determined to make the most of their time together.

Daneel, in turn, seemed eager to indulge him with conversations about anything Baley could think of. Daneel asked about life on Earth and volunteered some descriptions of Spacer life, though mostly from the point of view of the Spacers - the _human_ Spacers. Baley felt some apprehension for Daneel when he remembered the decision that would put him in Amadiro’s hands, but he held back from voicing his concerns.

Later, they had explored the room’s collection of book-films. Most were about different aspects of Spacer culture, and Baley chose one that showcased early to contemporary Spacer art to spark a discussion on Daneel’s capacity for aesthetic appreciation. They browsed through images ranging from non-Euclidean abstracts to hyper-realistic portraits bordering on the pornographic. “Fastolfe thinks these are ‘beautiful’,” Daneel had confessed, “but I cannot understand exactly what he means.”

And once, they had experimented with the astrosimulator and found that if they both pressed the control edge at the same time with their fingers brushing, Baley could see Daneel standing beside him in the projection of space. (Daneel, of course, perceived the simulation only faintly and could see Baley regardless, since the contraption operated differently on his positronic brain). If not for that, Baley had to admit to himself that he may have been fearful once more of the illusion of drifting, bodiless, through space. But Daneel’s presence was becoming more of a comfort to him than anything else in the galaxy possibly could be, and so, grasping the control mechanism together, their fingers bumping up against each other, Baley let himself be lost in the captivating vastness of space with his friend by his side.

Now, however, the lull of boredom had descended upon the room as the ship made its way to the outskirts of the Auroran system.

“Do you want to view a film together, Daneel?” he asked after a flavorful dinner of Euterpen curries.

“Certainly, Partner Elijah,” Daneel said. “They have supplied us with quite a selection.”

So they had. Baley was surprised to find even a few Earth films in the cabin’s library.

“After how you described life on Earth, I would like to see more of it myself,” Daneel said after Baley held up a handful of film cases. 

“These are all a bit dated,” he said, skimming through the summaries on the backs of the cases. This one set in the Medieval American South, that one set in Medieval Morocco… The Medieval Era really was the golden era of Earth culture, Baley mused.

“How about this? _2001: A Space Odyssey._ I’ve never seen it myself, but I’ve heard it depicts a 20th century Earthman’s perspective of a 21st century Earth.” He grinned. “Lots of historical layers there. It could be interesting. Made by the greatest director and the second-greatest science fiction writer of that century, it’s said.”

Daneel nodded. “Who was the greatest science fiction writer?”

Baley frowned while sliding the tape into the film viewer. “Don’t remember.” He sat on the cushy settee facing the televisor and patted the spot next to him.

Daneel sat down obligingly. “I have not watched many films. The last one I saw… ah.” He trailed off without making eye contact.

That _damned_ hyperwave drama. Baley grimaced and started up the viewer.

The film was visually striking, more so than any Earth-made drama he had seen. He would have placed it in the Auroran aesthetic if anything.

They watched in silence for a while as primitive humanoid figures scuttled across the screen.

“Fascinating,” Daneel commented eventually. “Aurorans are reluctant to speak even of their origins on Earth, let alone in creatures such as those.”

Baley snorted. Nothing less from arrogant Spacers. “They’re not Creationists, surely?”

“‘Creationists’,” Daneel echoed, thinking for a moment as the actors chattered in the film. “No, they believe in evolution. They just do not… reflect on its implications.”

Baley nodded. Spacers seemed to do very little in the way of introspection.

“Do you think this music is beautiful?” Daneel asked quietly after the prologue with the humanoids gave way to an extended shot of a space station backed by a swelling classical piece.

“I do,” Baley said, eager to investigate more of Daneel’s aesthetic preferences. “Do you?”

Daneel hesitated. “The juxtaposition of the space station and the music compared to the opening scenes is striking. I see why it would have appealed to Medieval Spacers.”

That’s a start, Baley thought. He angled himself more towards Daneel on the settee. “It’s Strauss, I think.”

“Strauss?”

“Strauss, a composer from the old European zone? The Ancient Romantic period of music, I believe? They don’t teach you that on Aurora?”

“This type of music is seen as very old-fashioned. Master Fastolfe certainly does not listen to it.”

Baley smiled. “I'm glad I could introduce you to it, then.”

His thoughts drifted slightly from the movie. Jessie hated it when he talked while they watched the hyperwave and always admonished him into saving his comments for later. But discussing things with Daneel felt natural. Content, he relaxed further into the settee. 

Until the characters stepped out onto the moon.

For some reason, the director was all too skilled at portraying the vastness of space that loomed over the Medieval Earthmen. Their flimsy spacesuits formed the only barrier between them and _nothing_. No atmosphere. No air. The void of empty space sprawling behind them as they marched toward their discovery.

The scene ended quickly and Baley started to breathe again. Feeling Daneel’s eyes on him, he forced a chuckle. “Good thing they haven’t called me out to investigate a murder on the moon, eh, Daneel?”

“I would certainly want to accompany you there, Partner Elijah.”

Baley smiled gratefully at him. Had Daneel moved closer on the settee?

Fortified by Daneel’s presence at his side, he forced his attention back to the screen.

“Ah, a robot!” Baley leaned forward to stare at the red light on the characters’ spaceship.

“This movie was made in the nineteen-sixties, was it not? Then it is a conception of a robot that predates the Laws of Robotics?”

Baley grabbed the film case to examine the date the movie was made. “Looks like it.”

Daneel nodded. “It should be an interesting historical perspective.”

Baley gasped out loud when the main character departed from the spacecraft to fix the ship’s antenna, his body floating anchorless around the ship.

“ _Jehoshaphat_ ,” he whispered, leaning forward in horror. It was like this movie had been made to torment him.

Feeling Daneel’s eyes turn to him, he forced another laugh. “Amazing how these old films draw you in, right?” 

“It is certainly building up dramatic tension.” 

Baley didn’t know how Daneel was managing to narrow the distance between them so surreptitiously, but he did appreciate it. Feeling Daneel’s arm brushing against his, his exhaled deeply. He wasn’t a scientist, a mechanic, or a reckless pioneer - there would never be any need for him to exit a spaceship when it wasn’t firmly rooted on the ground. It was like using the astrosimulator, he told himself. If one didn’t have a crippling and irrational fear of gaping open spaces, it was probably quite relaxing.

They pressed on, but they really shouldn’t have - because the movie’s robot character proceeded to jettison one of the scientists into the vacuum of space.

Baley and Daneel stared in horror at the scientist’s helplessly spinning body before they both shot up off of the settee. 

“Elijah, I do not think we should watch this movie anymore.”

“I agree, turn it off, Daneel!”

The televisor clicked off on the image of HAL 9000’s red eye staring at them. 

Baley was already headed over to the library of films they had when Daneel tried to apologize. “Not necessary. We’ll just watch a different one.” Nervously, his eyes strayed to the astrosimulator which sat next to the film collection. He doubted he would be using that again soon. 

He snatched up the movie about Medieval Morocco in the height of the second World War. “Let’s watch this instead.”

His new selection ended up being much tamer than the sci-fi classic. Snappy dialogue and well-written romance lowered the tension in Baley’s muscles and he relaxed into explaining what he knew of 20th century Earth history to Daneel. The end of the movie even left him smiling and he retired to the Personal feeling somewhat less rattled. 

The lingering warmth of a hot shower and the softness of his bed soothed him even more and he drifted off to sleep without much trouble. The sky overhead filled with gentle, white clouds - they reminded Baley of the dessert the ship had served last night. He asked Daneel if he would go and get some so they could share it together. Daneel did, but then the sky darkened even more. The fluffy white turned to roiling grey, and with panic Baley realized he had sent Daneel into danger. 

“Daneel!” he cried as he ran into the sky. He had to save him. He was the only one who cared, so it _had_ to be him, he knew, even as the wind buffeted him and the rain pelted him. But he couldn’t see Daneel anywhere. All that loomed above him now was blackness. 

He turned desperately back to the ground and his heart leapt when he saw Giskard standing below him, his eyes glinting up at him in the darkness.

“Giskard!” he called. But Giskard’s red eyes had morphed into one perfectly circular red eye, which filled his vision as the void swept him away, his body spinning into nothingness-

“Elijah!”

Baley jerked awake to find the room dimly lit and Daneel sitting on his bed, an arm outstretched to gently shake him by the shoulder. The expression on his usually robotic face caused Baley almost to forget his nightmare entirely. “Daneel, what’s wrong?” he asked.

“Partner Elijah,” Daneel said gravely, “You called my name in your sleep. You seemed to be in considerable distress so I thought it would be best to wake you.”

“Don’t worry,” said Baley, who was starting to notice how sweaty he was and how fast his heart was beating. “I was just dreaming.” 

At his words, the details of the nightmare sharpened and his traitorous mind reminded him that he was hurtling across the galaxy, protected from the deadly vacuum of space by nothing more than a thin layer of metal.

He did not want to do this again. This gut-wrenching dread of being outside the walls of the City, that he would float away into endless space or be consumed by a torrent of rain. He was supposed to be getting _better_.

Daneel cautiously began to shift away, but before he could help himself Baley grabbed his wrist before he could move.

“Are you well, Partner Elijah? Is there anything I can do?” Hesitantly, he placed his hand back on Baley’s shoulder.

Baley tried not to lean into the gesture too much even as he longed to wrap his arms around Daneel and stay in his embrace for the rest of the night. Blushing deeply, he looked around for a distraction. His eyes strayed to the film collection that had gotten him into this mess. Then he spotted the device that sat beside it.

Baley gently moved Daneel’s hand aside and walked over to where the astrosimulator sat. Daneel followed.

“I dreamed that we were floating away into space,” Baley said, picking up the astrosimulator delicately. “You were lost because of me, and I couldn’t do anything about it.”

“That will not happen,” Daneel said. “Even if we were to encounter an unexpected cloud of debris or stray asteroid, this ship is made from fine Auroran-”

“Alright, Daneel,” Baley said, a little impatiently. “I _know_ that, intellectually. I know the chances of us being-” he floundered - “you know. The chances are slim. The problem is, I’m still…” Still afraid. He couldn’t bring himself to say it, even to Daneel.

Instead, he brought the astrosimulator to the table and, steeling himself, grabbed the control.

Daneel covered Baley’s hands with his own. Baley started at his touch. “I do not think that is a good idea, Partner Elijah. Is exposure to open space not the source of your distress?”

“Of course it is,” Baley grumbled. “That’s why I need to face it.” 

Daneel stared at him for a moment, his face as impassive as always. “Some humans attempt to overcome their fears by facing them,” he said slowly. 

“That’s right.” 

“It is a trait I have observed in yourself and in Madame Gladia, but in few others.” Baley stared determinedly at the astrosimulator. “I must admit that I do not understand the reasoning.” His hand remained firm over Baley’s.

He considered demanding Daneel stop pestering him and wondered if a strongly worded order could bypass the robot's worries for Baley’s safety. He recoiled from the thought as soon as it came to him. 

“Is there anything you’re afraid of, Daneel?” he asked instead, hoping to outmaneuver the robot.

He paused. “I had not considered it before. But indeed, I believe I have experienced an emotion that is the counterpart to a human's fear. Would you like to know what it is?” 

A _counterpart._ He hadn’t expected a robot to have felt fear (or indeed, an analog of fear), but of course - it was logical that the fears of robots would align with the Three Laws. Fear of a human coming to harm, fear of disobeying orders, and fear of harm to the self, in that order: they were rational fears, he thought, and he should not be surprised. So he said, “Sure, if you don’t mind."

“My fear is that you will be placed in a situation where you will be alone, frightened, and in danger of injury or even death, and that there will be nothing I can do to help you. I have faced that fear and yet I have not overcome it in the slightest.”

“Oh,” was all Baley could say for a while. Of course. As they had left the Administration Building and drove into the raging storm, of course Daneel had been afraid. Baley cringed to think back on his weakness then, but pressed on. The robot’s behavior had clearly indicated his anxiety and his fear - fear for Baley. Jehoshaphat, if Giskard had not been there, had not possessed his peculiar power, Daneel may not have retreated to safety at all. _Of course._

“Well.” He cleared his throat awkwardly. “Well, that’s a rather different kind of fear, isn’t it? That’s a rational fear. My fear, however, is irrational and therefore I would benefit from being exposed to it so that I can realize how irrational it is,” he said stubbornly, not because using the little cubicle mattered at all to him anymore, but because it was the only sensible thing he could think to say at the moment, especially with Daneel’s hands surrounding his in a warm and gentle grasp. He forced himself not to think about them. “If you help me, then you’ll be alleviating some future pain I might experience because I didn’t expose myself to open spaces enough. How's that?”

Daneel gave him the most irritated look he had ever seen on the robot’s face. Despite his anxiety, Baley had to stop himself from chuckling.

“I want us to remain visible to each other throughout the simulation. Is that acceptable?”

“Of course, Daneel,” Baley said, relieved. He hadn’t wanted to do it alone anyway, but he would keep that to himself.

They stood facing each other. Daneel shifted his hands so that both of their thumbs could hover over the control edge. Baley suppressed a shiver at the glancing caress of Daneel’s fingers over his.

He looked up into Daneel’s eyes. “Ready?” he asked, and when Daneel assented they summoned the illusion into being.

Space burst into existence around them. For a moment longer Baley held Daneel’s gaze, nervous. But Daneel’s eyes were open to him, forever patient and filled with compassion. (Yes, at least a _counterpart_ to compassion, Baley insisted.) His fingers still brushed against Baley’s, anchoring him. With a deep breath, he raised his eyes to the stars.

A thousand pinpricks of light twinkled around them, puncturing the darkness of abyssal space. They drifted slowly through the stars as Elijah looked around. It was just as before, when he had observed their approach to Aurora. Better, even, with Daneel’s calming presence a sturdy lifeline should he need it. Space was less like an unfathomable ocean ready to drown him and more like the weight of a comforting blanket. He felt like he could stay in this moment of peace forever as long as they were together.

He sighed with heavy relief. “It’s beautiful, Daneel.”

“Yes,” Daneel whispered. “Beautiful.”

Baley grinned. So this was the robot's aesthetic - the simple beauty of outer space? Yes, he could understand that now.

Something tickled the back of his mind as he basked in the calm of the void, but he ignored it. These moments with Daneel were precious; he didn't want to be distracted by anything. It was only too bad Daneel couldn't see the simulation in all its beauty-

Jehoshaphat!

That was it.

His eyes met Daneel's. The robot was gazing at him.

“What is it that's beautiful to you, Daneel?” he asked softly.

Daneel bowed his head. “Forgive me, Partner Elijah. I should have known you would deduce my intentions. What I find most beautiful is your smile, and the sight of you safe and secure and mastering your fears.”

Baley almost dropped the control edge. His heart was beating rapidly again, but not from agoraphobia. 

He looked around for something to focus on other than Daneel’s eyes, staring intently at him, and Daneel’s hands, his fingers securely clutching Baley’s.

The robot was apprehensive - Baley did not know when he started seeing so many emotions on that inscrutable face - and his eyes scanned him worriedly for signs of panic. “Partner Elijah,” Daneel said, “your pulse is elevating. I will cease the simulation-”

“No! I feel good, Daneel,” Baley said. But how could he explain the cause of his distress to Daneel, who might not have a counterpart for this? How could he explain that what he wanted more than anything now was to embrace him, to feel his body warm against him, to kiss him deeply and lovingly? _How had it come to this_?

“You can’t just compliment a man like that and expect him to brush it off,” Baley said, trying to do just that.

“I suppose I am not good at this,” Daneel said softly. “I want to find a way to tell you - for example, that I enjoy the feeling of our hands touching.” He drew his fingers across the back of Baley's hand as he said it, sending a shiver down Baley's spine. “That my aesthetic preferences are linked inexorably to you. That I wish I could stay by your side even after you leave this ship. I have wanted to say that, but I do not want to offend you.”

Before he could stop himself, Baley pulled Daneel into a hug. His accelerating breathing slowed against Daneel's warm chest as he felt Daneel's arms encircle him and slowly, gently tighten comfortably around him.

When Baley at last pulled away, the illusion had ended. The darkness of space had lapsed back into the dim light of the ship’s cabin.

“Daneel,” he said, “I really did feel fine using the astrosimulator tonight. More than fine, actually. But I wonder if you…” He blushed deeply and hurriedly caught his breath before continuing. “I would like it if you were to stay close to me tonight. And I only say that because I think you might not mind it as well. That is, I could have another nightmare, don’t you think? Agoraphobia can't be cured in one night, after all.”

“I would like that very much,” Daneel said.

Baley fit well in Daneel's arms, and for the rest of the trip his dreams were good.

**Author's Note:**

> I first watched 2001: A Space Odyssey at a young age and one of my most vivid memories from it was indeed the main character's friend spinning off into space to die. That terrified me! Not to mention the spoopy monoliths and the psychedelic ending. The first time I rewatched it after having read the Robots series I found myself thinking, what if Elijah and Daneel watched it together? Being lost in the vast expanse of space is Elijah's worst nightmare and robots harming humans is contrary to Daneel's entire being. I thought it would be a fitting scary movie for them. So here we are.


End file.
